March 3, 2020 - Four Croatian wineries were among the 163 from 15 countries at this year's Vancouver International Wine Festival. Among them was Krolo Winery, the only representative from Split-Dalmatia County.
VanWineFest was held for the 42nd time and is considered the best international wine festival in North America.
“We traveled to Canada this year, inspired by the great experience from last year's fair. It is one of the oldest food and wine fairs in the world, which makes it the right place to promote Croatian winemakers as well as our Dalmatian hinterland. The theme of this year's fair was rosé, so our brand was Šjora. Using Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Crvena kastelanski, three extremely powerful red varieties, we were able to produce one of the most impressive rosé wines on the Croatian market, whose quality has now been recognized by world experts,” said Drazan Krolo.
Krolo’s vineyards are located in Strmendolec, in the Trilj region, a specific area for viticulture. Because the continental climate is blended with the Mediterranean, Krolo wines have one special spark that deserves many international accolades and awards. It is of particular curiosity that, a few years ago, they won a bronze medal for one of the biggest blind trials in the middle of Bordeaux for the Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, a product that has been admired by the French for decades.
“The reactions of visitors from all over the world were excellent. We need to stand by the biggest ones to confirm our value and I can proudly say that we, together with other colleagues from Croatia, excellently presented our winemaking capabilities. Americans have been passionate about Zinfandel for many years, and our great advantage is the quality of the product we have and the fact that Croatia, or my Kastela, is where this variety comes from. And besides praise, we continue to ship our bottles to the Canadian market,” Drazan Krolo added, noting that after filling the capacity of 40,000 bottles, they do not plan on expanding because he wants to remain committed to every grape and every bottle.
In addition to Krolo Winery, this year's Croatian representatives in Canada included Korta Katarina from Peljesac and Istrian wineries Franc Arman and Coronica.
The Vancouver International Wine Festival was held from February 22 to March 1, and 57 different events were held as part of the fair - dinners, tastings, workshops, lectures and seminars. Numerous guests had the opportunity to enjoy the "Tastes of Croatia" dinner, where Croatian wines were served with delicious snacks.
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